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We need to stop pretending that Republican proposals on deficit reduction have any seriousness or legitimacy whatsoever - they do not. They are universally hated by the public.

The late-January CNN poll showed the 79% of Democrats, 78% of Independents, 78% of Republicans, and even 70% of tea party supporters do not want Social Security cuts. On Medicare, the numbers were 84% D, 82% I, 76% R, 78% tea party against cuts. Even on Medicaid, which helps the poor, 81% D, 69% I, 60% R, 54% tea party say no cuts.

Some will say, "Well we need to make unpopular choices." In this case, we actually don't. There are plenty of popular choices on the table. The public overwhelmingly wants to end the Bush tax cuts for those making over $250,000. The public overwhelmingly wants cuts to wasteful military spending. The public universally despises the Wall Street banks that got us into this mess, and supports new taxes and fees on Wall Street banks that gamble and speculate with our money. And the public gets that the best way to deal with the economy is to create jobs - which requires investments now, not cuts to investments. We can pay for those investments and reduce the deficit by asking millionaires and Wall Street to pay their fair share, and reducing wasteful military spending.

So, there are plenty of serious and legitimate measures on the table. But so far, none are from Republicans. A progressive agenda is where the center of the country is.

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